Ibrahim Likmetaj Kodra (22 April 1918 – 7 February 2006) was an Albanian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

Biography

Kodra was born in

Ishëm Ishëm is a former municipality in the Durrës County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Durrës. The population at the 2011 census was 5,001.Biography
ibrahimkodra.com His mother died when he was young, and he did not receive adequate treatment from his stepmother. His father was working in the Commercial Marine.
Ibrahim took art classes from

Odhise Paskali Odhise Paskali (22 December 1903 – 13 September 1985) was an Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Sea ...

during 1929, focusing on sport as well. Kodra practiced discus and

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

throw, without pretending any professional career in sport, since those disciplines were not even present in Albania at that time. While taking drawing classes, one of his drawings would come into the focus of Queen Geraldine. This would change his course of life, and later it would be speculated that he was friend of Prince Tati and part of the royal circle, which was not true, though it never seriously bothered the artist. In 1938, he went to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to study

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

supported by a

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

from the Albanian Kingdom, and there he won a second scholarship from the Italian government as an emerging talent with the intervention of Jacomoni, and went to study in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in the

Academy of Fine Arts of Brera The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's main public mu ...

. In 1944 he opened his first workshop in

; in 1948 he opened a personal and group exposition in the "Art Club" in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, where he met and become friend of

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

, which often will be contested on artistic reflections. In 1950 he painted

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s in the most important museums and buildings of Milan. Kodra then opened an exposition with Picasso,

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

Georges Rouault Georges-Henri Rouault (; 27 May 1871, Paris - 13 February 1958, Paris) was a French painter, draughtsman, and printmaker, whose work is often associated with Fauvism and Expressionism. Childhood and education Rouault was born into a poor famil ...

Dufy Dufy is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jean Dufy (1888–1964), French painter * Raoul Dufy Raoul Dufy (; 3 June 1877 – 23 March 1953) was a French painter associated with the Fauvist movement. He gained recogn ...

and others in the Mostra del Disegno in

Chiavari Chiavari (; ) is a seaside comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It has a beachside promenade and a marina and is situated near the river Entella (river), Entella. History Pre-Rom ...

(Italy). He had many other personal expos all around the world, including: *Collective exposition in "Paradise" with

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (11 May 190423 January 1989), known as Salvador Dalí ( ; ; ), was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, ...

, Matta,

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (born ...

Carlo Levi Carlo Levi () (29 November 1902 – 4 January 1975) was an Italian painter, writer, activist, Independent Left (Italy), independent leftist politician, and doctor. He is best known for his book ''Christ Stopped at Eboli (novel), Cristo si è fe ...

Braque Georges Braque ( ; ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his alliance with Fauvism from 1905, and the role he play ...

, etc. *Collective exposition in "Mostra del disegno e dell'incisione contemporanea" in 1943 in

, with

Emilio Vedova Emilio Vedova (9 August 1919 – 25 October 2006) was a modern Italian painter. He is considered one of the most important artists to emerge from Italy's artistic scene in the post-World War II. Early life Vedova was born in Venice into a work ...

Renato Guttuso Aldo Renato Guttuso (26 December 1911 – 18 January 1987) was an Italian painter and politician. He is considered to be among the most important Italian artists of the 20th century and is among the key figures of Italian expressionism. His art i ...

Giacomo Manzù Giacomo Manzoni (22 December 1908 – 17 January 1991), known professionally as Giacomo Manzù, was an Italian sculptor. Biography Manzù was born in Bergamo. His father was a shoemaker and sacristan. Other than a few evening art classes ...

, Cassinari, Morlotti, etc. *Collective exposition in "Mostra del disegno italiano contemporaneo" in

1954, with

, Modigliani, Rouault and

*Collective exposition in

(Galleria Montenapoleone, 1954), with

Joan Miró Joan Miró i Ferrà ( , ; ; 20 April 1893 – 25 December 1983) was a Catalan Spanish painter, sculptor and Ceramic art, ceramist. A museum dedicated to his work, the Fundació Joan Miró, was established in his native city of Barcelona ...

, Birolli, Delaunay,

, Kokoschka,

Léger Leger or Léger may refer to: People * Léger (surname), a list of people with the surname Léger or Leger * Leodegar or Leger (615-679), Chalcedonian saint, martyr and Bishop of Autun * Leger Djime (born 1987), Chadian footballer * Leger Douz ...

and Severini *Collective expo in the Stone Gallery in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

with Corneille,

Gear A gear or gearwheel is a rotating machine part typically used to transmit rotational motion and/or torque by means of a series of teeth that engage with compatible teeth of another gear or other part. The teeth can be integral saliences or ...

, Gleghorn, Michaux,

Millares Millares is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Canal de Navarrés in the Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous co ...

, etc. *Numerous collectives in Milan, the Stone Gallery in

, "Senator" in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, and also in the "New Art Center" in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. *Personal expo in Modern Art Gallery in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

. *Personal expo in Princess Hall in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and personal expo the "2D Gallery" in

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

. His works are in the Museum of Vatican, in the Chamber of Deputies (House of Representatives) of the Italian Parliament in Rome, in exclusive private collections all around the world. In 1996 he won the "Honor of the Nation" award from Albania (), and in 1997, shortly after painting Albania Fantastica he was appointed honorary consul and he was given a diplomatic passport to the Republic of Albania. He died in

in 2006. Kodra was buried in front of

Ishëm Castle Ishëm Castle (Albanian:''Kalaja e Ishmit'') is a castle in Ishëm, Durrës County, Albania. It is located on a hill above the river Ishëm. It was built from 1572 to 1574 by Ottomans to stop the peasant rebellions. His house in

is converted in a museum, with the initiative of Fatos Fasliu, president of "Ibrahim Kodra Foundation" in Milan. In February 2010, a museum dedicated to his work was opened in Melide,

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

, with the support of Albanian entrepreneur

Behgjet Pacolli Behgjet Isa Pacolli (; (born 30 August 1951) is an Albanian-Kosovan Swiss politician and businessman who served as the first deputy prime minister of Kosovo and minister of foreign affairs from 2017 to 2019 under the Ramush Haradinaj government. ...

and the "Ibrahim Kodra" Foundation (Fondazione per i Ragazzi del mondo di Ibrahim Kodra), a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

cultural organization supporting emerging art talents and promoting Kodra's work.

Awards

Honor of Nation Order The "Honour of the Nation" Decoration () is the highest decoration to be given in Albania, among the Civil awards and decorations of Albania, and was instituted by special law No. 8113, of 28 March 1996, entitled ''Për dekoratat në Republikën e ...

, by President of the Republic of Albania, 1996

Museum

Kodra works are kept in the Museum of the Vatican, in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

of the Italian Parliament, in the

Kosova National Art Gallery The National Gallery of Kosovo (NGK; ), formerly known as the Kosova National Art Gallery (KNAG; ), is an Art museum, art gallery situated at the University of Pristina Campus that focuses on 20th-century art. Previous exhibits have includ ...

, in the collection of art of the

Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo The Pinacoteca Tosio Martinengo is a public art museum in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. Established in 1851, the museum exhibits mainly paintings by local artists dated from the Thirteenth through the Eighteenth century. The museum's current collec ...

, City of

, in the art gallery of the basilica santuario di Santa Maria de Finibus Terrae and of

Santa Maria di Leuca Santa Maria di Leuca, often spelled simply Leuca is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Castrignano del Capo, in the Salento peninsula (Apulia), southern Italy. A part of the town once belonged to the ''comune'' of Gagliano del Capo. The territo ...

Style

The essential movements in his painting are

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

and

Abstractionism Abstractionism is the theory that the mind obtains some or all of its concepts by abstracting them from concepts it already has, or from experience.Geach, Peter (1957) Mental Acts - Their Contents and Their Objects. Routledge Kegan Paul. One may, ...

. He is the founder of a neocubism admired also by

, who studied, experimented with, and reworked it, creating a personal metaphysical-geometric aesthetic. His paintings are composed of elegant geometric figures, which are understood both as a synthesis of reality and as a return to the primordial simplicity of human-produced art, whose features have been passed down in the ancestral culture of

Primitivism In the arts of the Western world, Primitivism is a mode of aesthetic idealization that means to recreate the experience of ''the primitive'' time, place, and person, either by emulation or by re-creation. In Western philosophy, Primitivism propo ...

Catalogs and bibliography

*''Kodra das Fantastische in der Kunst ; Vernissage am 7. März 1984 ... anläßlich der Partnerstadt-Aktion "Die Lombardei & Mailand"'' (1984),

OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...

179755168,

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

– Hertie Zeil *''Ibrahim Kodra : opere degli anni '80'' (1982), Michele Prisco; Giorgio Celli; Carmelo Strano,

849043385,

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

– La Tela Petruso *''Ibrahim Kodra : colori d'acque e d'Albania'', Aldo Gerbino; Ivan Caric; Giorgio Celli,

849043391 *''Dal 13 al 28 marzo 1976 per una ricerca comune Ibrahim Kodra più Gigi Gherard'' (1976),

797452882,

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

– Galleria Agrati *''Kodra'' (1982), Paul Éluard; Enrico Crispolti; Renzo Bertoni,

849031229,

– Edizioni Centro d'Arte La Tela *''Kodra, një univers'' (1992), Abdulla Tafa,

255014199,

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

– Enti ART *''Il lungo inverno (The long winter)'' (1988), Roberto Ruberto; Ibrahim Kodra,

52561452, Milan – Rosone*''Ibrahim Kodra : atalogue', Ibrahim Kodra, Antonino De Bono,

22099930, Series: Profili del Comanducci *''Il Carpine. Galleria d'arte'' (1966), Ibrahim Kodra, Walter Fedler,

25750755,

*''Solarità mediterranee'' (2004), Ibrahim Kodra,

60681846,

– Palazzo della Regione *''Nga Ishmi në Brera : Kujtime'' (2000), Ibrahim Kodra, Demetrio Patituc̦it, ,

48038281, Onufri,

*''Ibrahim Kodra : artist file : study photographs and reproductions of works of art with accompanying documentation 1930?–1990'',

855508359,

–

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

*''Ibrahim Kodra'' (1974), Antonino De Bono,

487777958 *''Ibrahim Kodra'' (1972),

717918057,

La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...

– Galleria Il Gabbiano *''Kodra'' (1974), Carlo Munari,

220465417,

– Collana d'oro maestri del mediterraneo *''Ibrahim Kodra e il Teatro Massino'' (1997),

799494763, Palermo – Centro Paolo Borsellino *''Ibrahim Kodra : Palazzo Municipale dal 16/11 al 9/12/84'' (1984), Ibrahim Kodra, Cernusco. Assessorato alla Cultura,

313541343, Milan – Tipogr. B.C.S. r. *''Ibrahim Kodra : 25 marzo-20 Aprile 1972'' (1972),

2606927,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

– Galleria d'arte "Il Tarlo" *''Ibrahim Kodra : mostra personale del pittore 14 marzo – 3 aprile 1959'', Milan – Galleria Bergamini,

272565950 *''Ibrahim Kodra : Galerija e Artit Prishtinë Jugosllavia, Korrik 1968'' (1968), Anton Çetta,

780550902,

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

– Umetnička Galerija Priština *''Ibrahim Kodra : omaggio a Positano'' (2006), Massimo Bignardi,

849322394 *''Sav taj crtež : 17 međunarodnih izložba (originalnog) crteža'' (2009), Daina Glavočić; Ljubica Dujmović Kosovac; Andy Jelčić;Jelčić: ''Österreichischer Staatspreis für literarische Übersetzung'' 2017 Slobodan Drenovac,

781150027, ,

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

(

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

) – Muzej moderne i suvremene umjetnosti

Gallery

File:Ibrahim Kodra, Music lesson, 1997 oil on canvas, 80x100 cm.JPG, ''Music Lesson'', 1997, oil on canvas, 80x100 File:Ibrahim Kodra, The date, 1987 oil on canvas, 80x100 cm.JPG, ''The date'', 1987, oil on canvas, 80x100 File:Ibrahim Kodra, The war for peace, 1977 oil on canvas, 80x100 cm.JPG, ''The war for peace'', 1977, oil on canvas, 80x100 File:Ibrahim Kodra, The birth of the idol, 1971 oil on canvas, 80x100 cm.JPG, ''The birth of the idol'', 1971, oil on canvas, 80x100 File:Ibrahim Kodra, Seeking new idols, 1968 oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm.JPG, ''Seeking new idols'', 1968, oil on canvas, 80x100 File:Ibrahim Kodra, The sea, 1968 oil on canvas, 80x100 cm.JPG, ''The sea'', 1968, oil on canvas, 80x100

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kodra, Ibrahim 1918 births 2006 deaths People from Durrës Albanian modern painters Fresco painters Brera Academy alumni 20th-century Albanian painters Albanian expatriates in Italy Albanian artists